Last year, 33 percent of Christie’s new customers were online buyers, the auction house said in its year-end sales report.

Christie’s boosted the number of online sales from 77 in 2015 to 118 last year. Plans call for 113 online auctions in 2017, according to The Art Newspaper.

At Sotheby’s, 45 percent of online-only sales buyers in the first half of 2017 were newcomers and about 20 percent went on to participate in live auctions.

This week, Sotheby’s announced it was eliminating the buyer’s premium for online-only sales, beginning with its Sept. 16 contemporary art auction. At the same time, the company raised buyers’ premiums slightly for most bricks-and-mortar auctions, including lots bought online during live sales.

“Online sales have emerged as our best tool for attracting first-time buyers and we see those new clients subsequently participating in other areas of our business at a meaningful level,” said David Goodman, executive vice president of digital development and marketing.

Victor Vasarely’s 1978 painting Axo-Csillag (1350 B) sold for $162,500 at a Sotheby’s online-only auction in July. Courtesy of Sotheby’s

Victor Vasarely’s 1978 painting Axo-Csillag (1350 B) sold for $162,500 at a Sotheby’s online-only auction in July. Courtesy of Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s, which held 16 online-only sales last year, is on track to double that number. Such sales are one way the auction houses hope to keep up in an increasingly competitive market.

Online sales still represent a tiny slice of the overall market, but their share has increased from 4 percent in 2013 to 8.4 percent last year, according to the 2017 Hiscox Online Art Trade Report.

Online sales are most active on the low end of the market, with 79 percent of online buyers paying less than $5,000 per piece, the Hiscox report said.

But two works sold for more than $150,000 this year in Sotheby’s online-only auctions. Frederick William MacMonnies’ statue of Nathan Hale commanded $175,000 in February and Victor Vasarely’s painting Axo-Csillag captured $162,500 in July.

The number of existing buyers converting to online sales has remained flat for three years. The principal barrier is not being able to physically inspect the work, the report said.

About the Author

Popular in News

Reader Comments
...

Next Up in Arts

Child psychiatrist Martin Dysart doubts the value of his life’s work and is haunted by a growing awareness of his passionless existence. His teen-aged patient Alan Strang is tortured by an obsession that led him to commit a heinous crime. When the two come together in Palm Beach Dramaworks’ production of Peter Shaffer’s
...

Our greatest hits of the 2017-18 cultural season range from a world-class brass quintet to an exhibition of paper dresses, which goes to show that excellence comes in many packages. * The show was a fascinating exploration of the perils of being a fighter pilot during aviation’s infancy as well as pilots’ evolution into pop culture heroes...

It’s been a good year for many local cultural organizations. As of last week, the Kravis Center has exceeded its $13.8 million ticket sales goal for the season by more than $1.2 million - and there was still another Broadway show to go. The center passed its $6 million fund raising goal a week ago. The center unveiled a planned $50 million...

When the Norton Museum unveils its $100 million Norman Foster-designed revamp and expansion in February, it will be with 12,000 square feet of new exhibition space as well as substantially retooled galleries to more effectively exhibit art. In short, it will be a fit vessel for selections from the more than 100 works of contemporary art Judie...

Cellist Andrei Ioniță and pianist Naoko Sonada visited Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Thursday night as part of the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach’s Great Performers series. The duo opened the concert with Pietro Locatelli’s Sonata in D Major. Locatelli was a contemporary of Antonio Vivaldi, but much of this piece sounded...